


Looking for Rain

by TheWriter2



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: 5+1, Anxiety Attacks, Canon Compliant, Confessions, Falling In Love, Fluff, Hurt/Comfort, Insecure Lance, M/M, Mutual Pining, Slow Burn, little bit of hurt and comfort i think
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-05-20
Updated: 2017-05-20
Packaged: 2018-11-02 21:36:10
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,326
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10953186
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheWriter2/pseuds/TheWriter2
Summary: Like most things, it starts with the little things: his smile, his confidence, his talent. Eventually, all these little things add up to one big thing that threatens to crash over them like a heavy rain. But, maybe that wouldn't be a bad thing.Maybe something beautiful would come from it.A 5+1 (really a 10+1) of Lance and Keith falling in love.





	Looking for Rain

**I.**

_Smile_

Keith stared up at the class assignment board and felt like the world was looming over him. He took a shaky breath and tired to remember Shiro’s comforting words. He tried to remember why he came to the Garrison in the first place.

But there were so many names. So many people who _wanted_ to be here. Keith’s mouth dried. He’d taken the place of someone who had truly wanted to go to space. He fisted his hands and forced himself to swallow, but his anxiety only pounded in his ears.

They would find out that he didn’t really want to be here. They would find out and then they’d tell Shiro. And then Shiro would give him that _look_ \--the one that made him feel like nothing more than a piece of dust. And Shiro would be so _disappointed_ , and Keith would have to--

“Hey, calm down, buddy. Everything’s going to be fine. Just take a deep breath.”

Keith turned toward the voice that had shocked him out of his thoughts. A boy stood only a foot or so away from him, rubbing the back of a larger boy who, frankly, looked a bit green. Keith watched and listened as the boy kept saying calm, soothing things to his friend. His heart slowed as he listened to the boy talk. His eyes caught on the soft smile the boy had as he watched his friend straighten and return to his natural color. Keith felt something bud in his chest as he watched the boy’s face light up and laugh at a joke his friend said.

It was the most beautiful laugh Keith had ever heard.

 

_Talent_

Lance bit his lip as he fiddled with his shirt’s hem. He’d heard rumors of students being kicked out of the Garrison on their first day due to poor scores. He’d heard how strict the teachers were. Fear gripped his heart as he listened the his instructor list the ways Lance had messed up in the simulator.

He looked down at his feet.

He had could do it--he could fly. In theory. He knew all the steps and all the procedures, but he hadn’t expected the simulator to be so much different than his imagination. Tears burned at the corners of his eyes, but he refused to let them fall. Steeling his heart, Lance vowed he’d learn from this and become an outstanding pilot.

The instructor glanced down at his roster. “Finally,” he grumbled, “someone with some promise.” He looked at the students. “Keith Kogane, you’re up next.”

Lance looked up and watched as a boy stepped out of the crowd and climbed into the simulator. The boy--Keith--strapped himself into the simulator like it was second nature. Lance watched with wide eyes as Keith went through the motions and passed through the simulator almost effortlessly. Lance watched as Keith’s stoic expression gave way to a proud smirk as he finished the exercise.

A small flame of jealousy sparked in Lance’s chest, but it was overshadowed by admiration. This was the kind of pilot Lance wanted to be. He wanted to be just as cool and heroic as Keith and Shiro were. The most talented pilot in their class and the greatest pilot to graduate from the Garrison. _They_ were Lance’s heroes.

A grim, determined smile spread on Lance’s lips. He could do this. He would reach them. He would overcome them.

Lance watched as Keith’s smirk gave way to a humble smile as the instructor complimented him kindly. Lance’s smile turned fond as Keith blushed. Human. Keith was talented, but he was also human. Human just like Lance was. And Lance could catch up to a human being.

 

**II.**

_Bravery_

Lance paced outside the small shack.

Keith had reappeared in his life.

Shiro was alive.

Aliens were real--and they were coming to Earth.

All these things were swirling in Lance’s mind, but one thing stood out the most: Keith was more idiotic and impulsive than Lance had originally thought. But, Lance realized as he paused his pacing, Keith was also braver than anyone Lance had ever met (except maybe his mom).

Lance sat down on the porch of Keith’s shack (though Lance thought it was more of a lean-to than a shack). He rubbed his eyes as his exhaustion caught up with him. He sighed and looked up to the pale indigo sky.

Not the night sky, but not quite dawn yet.

It reminded Lance of himself: not average but not quite a protege.

He jumped at the door slamming shut. Lance looked up at watched Keith sit down next to him. A billion emotions flittered through him as Keith looked out at the desert that surrounded them.

Anger that Keith had given up on the opportunity of a lifetime.

Frustration that he’d spent the last year chasing after Keith’s shadow, even after he’d been expelled.

Disappointment that his self-proclaimed rival hadn’t remembered him.

Sorrow that Keith had left and only had this shack to come back to.

And something small that Lance wanted to call admiration. Admiration (and maybe something more) for the boy sitting next to him with a soft expression on his face as he gazed out at the desert. Like he belonged to the desert, and the desert belonged to him. Two lonely souls looking for rain.

Lance looked away. “Is Shiro okay?” he asked quietly.

Keith glanced at him briefly before returning his gaze to the desert. “He’s sleeping off the anesthetic. He should be fine--at least physically.”

“Good,” Lance said through a sigh. He looked down at his feet. “Have you really been out here all this time?”

“What’s it to ya?” Keith replied tersely.

Lance looked up at Keith, his eyebrows furrowed. “I was just _asking_. God.” He looked out at the sky above the horizon again. The almost but not quite.

It seemed to Lance that a lot of things in his life were stuck in the almost but not quite.

_Contemplative_

Keith stared at Lance as he gazed out at the horizon. He wondered what Lance saw out there. He tried looking himself, but all he saw was the sky meeting the desert. Keith felt like he was missing out on a lot of things.

He glanced back at Lance. He bit his lip as he realized Lance’s brow was still furrowed in annoyance. He shouldn’t have snapped at Lance, he realized. But Keith couldn’t think of a way to make things right between them again. He wanted to go back to the easy and albeit brief conversation they were having, but Keith realized that the moment was gone.

He studied Lance’s face instead. He studied the way Lance seemed so effortlessly beautiful--just by staring at the sky.

Then it hit him--Keith was falling hard for Lance.

Lance, who stared at the sky like it whispered all its secrets to him.

Keith gazed up at the early morning sky and the faint stars that still danced. And as he sat there with Lance, he swore the stars stared back at Lance as if he held the secret to life.

And Keith was almost convinced he did.

 

**III.**

_Diligence_

Keith had a record of jumping the gun and getting into things without thinking them through.

He knew that agreeing to become a paladin would include responsibilities and experiences that he couldn’t foretell. He didn’t think he would experience a true battle so quickly.

Because fighting a robo-beast was different than fighting living, breathing life forms.

And while the adrenaline had kept Keith from overthinking things, he was left with memories of screaming, smoke, and blood. Lance’s blood. When Keith had first seen Lance’s unconscious body, fear and anger tore through him. He was still fearful. They had gotten themselves into a war. A real, deadly war.

Keith didn’t want to think about what would happen if any of them got hurt beyond repair.

As Keith entered the training deck, he was thrown off by the sounds of a battle that had already started.

He was even more surprised by the figure he saw training.

Lance stood at one end of the training deck, his rifle aimed at the training dummies charging at him from the other side of the room. Keith counted about five bots in the charge. He watched as Lance skillfully picked off bot after bot, finishing the battle before any of them had come within ten feet of Lance. He wiped a bead of sweat off his brow as the level ended.

Keith shook himself out of his stupor and clapped quietly. Lance started and whirled around to face Keith. “Oh, is it already after lunch?” he asked, setting his bayard down.

“What do you mean?” Keith asked.

Lance took a sip from his water bottle. “You usually come down and train after lunch,” he said, shrugging. “Guess I got carried away. Don’t worry, I’ll get out of your way in a minute.”

“You’ve been training everyday before lunch?” Keith asked.

Lance paused, his jacket in hand. “For a top student you’re pretty slow, aren’t ya,” he said, shaking his head. “Yes, I work out in here when either you or Shiro aren’t in here. Is that such a surprise?”

Keith blinked. “No, it’s just . . . have you always been training this much?”

Lance’s grip on his jacket tightened. “No.”

“Then why start all of a sudden?”

Lance’s stormy gaze met his. “Because I realized that I have too much to lose. I have too much to lose and I don’t have the skills to keep from the things that matter most to me.”

And damn him to hell, but Keith felt that budding emotion in his chest begin to bloom.

_Attentive_

Lance sighed as he slid down the wall of the training deck. Tired. He was too tired to pretend to hate Keith. Too tired to hide the homesickness that threatened to overtake him at any moment.

He felt Keith sit down next to him. “Do you want to talk about it?” he suggested softly.

Lance sighed again. “I guess I . . .” he trailed off, unsure how to begin.

Keith squeezed his arm reassuringly. “I’m listening,” he said.

“It’s just,” Lance said, throwing his arms out helplessly, “it’s just that after everything that’s happened with the castle being invaded and all that jazz, I realized that this is real. That we could die up here in space and _no one_ back home would know what happened to us.” He hid his face in his hands. “I can’t do that to them, not my family.”

Keith was silent for a few moments before he said, “Can you tell me about them? Your family?”

Lance peaked out through his fingers. The sincere curiosity in Keith’s eyes brought Lance’s hands away from his face. He shook his head with another sigh. “I miss them like crazy,” he began. “My mom is the strongest person you will ever meet. Stronger than Shiro and Allura combined.” Keith let out a low whistle that Lance chuckled at. “She’s a teacher. Works with littler kids, you know. You’d think that after having us she’d want nothing to do with children, but it’s just like her to find a way to keep being a mom after we’ve all grown up.

“My oldest sister, Dana? She’s married and has a little girl named Isabelle. Cutest kid you’ve ever met,” Lance said, a wistful smile on his face. “Dana is a lot like Mama--stubborn and willful. No one was surprised when she became a lawyer.”

Lance leaned his head against the wall. “Eduardo is two years younger than Dana. He’s a librarian. A real quiet soul, he is.” Lance glanced at Keith. “He’d probably like you. You’ve both got this fiery spirit that draws people in,” he said. “Eduardo was always my favorite. He got engaged to Anthony last fall. They planned on getting married this winter.” Lance frowned. “I wonder if we’ll be home by then.”

Keith nudged his shoulder. “We will,” he promised. “What about the rest of your siblings?”

Lance smiled, his homesickness sticking to the corners of his eyes. “Rosa is twenty. You couldn’t tell that girl no to anything. I swear, she’s convinced she can keep people from dying just by saying so,” he said. “She’s a pre-med student at Stanford. Got in with a full ride.

“Then there’s my little brother, Andres,” Lance said, a mischievous tone slipping into his voice. “He’s only thirteen but he has more insight about life than most adults do. Super mature, but can pull the greatest pranks if you goad him into it. Love him to bits, even if he can get on my nerves sometimes.” Lance fiddled with his fingers.

“What about your dad?” Keith breathed.

Lance looked down and swallowed. “He, uh,” he said, his voice catching in his throat, “he was an air force pilot. He died when I was five.”

“Oh,” Keith said. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have--”

“It’s fine,” Lance said. “It was a long time ago.”

Lance watched as Keith chewed on his lip. “I can tell why you don’t want to lose them,” he said quietly. “They sound wonderful.”

Lance nodded. “They are.”

Keith huffed and stood. “Well, since you need to get home in time to crash your brother’s wedding, why don’t I help you clean up that routine you were working on?”

Lance stared up at Keith. Something wild beat in his chest as Keith offered him his hand. Lance looked into Keith’s eyes and felt something like affection rush through his veins.

Affection for Keith who had listened to Lance ramble on about his family like it was gospel.

Lance let some of that affection show in his smile as he took Keith’s hand.

 

**IV.**

_Fortitude_

The Red Lion was attacking the Blade of Marmora’s base.

Keith was not piloting Red.

Meaning Keith was in trouble.

Lance gripped the arms of his chair as they waited. Lance’s heart pounded painfully against his chest as they watched Red attack. Any moment now and they could swoop in and provide backup.

Coran began his countdown.

“Princess, we're coming back, and we're bringing someone you should meet,” Shiro said.

Lance stayed next to Keith during the meeting with Kolivan. As the agreements drew to a close, Lance watched as Keith stepped forward. “There’s something I need to tell you guys,” he said.

As their teammates gave him their attention, Lance studied Keith’s stance. He was tense, his hands fisted and shaking as he stared down at his feet. Lance realized that Keith was scared. Scared of how they would react. Lance stepped forward and brushed his hand against Keith’s.

Keith took a deep breath. “While we were gone,” he said, “I found out that I am part . . . part Galra.”

Lance’s eyes widened. Hunk and Pidge shared a concerned glance before turning to Allura.

Allura, who looked as though Keith had just announced that he was Zarkon in disguise. Lance could feel the ugly words bubbling in Allura’s heart. Words that would turn Keith into insalvable pieces.

Lance looked into Keith’s eyes. Eyes that showed him the desert.

A soul looking for rain.

And Lance felt that affection rush through him again. Because Keith was afraid. But his strength--strength that Lance always admired, pushed him to share this vulnerable part of himself with the team.

_Protective_

“So you’re part alien, what does it matter? You’re still Keith.”

Keith stared at Lance. Lance, who for the second time pulled Keith out of a dark hole of terror.

Lance slung an arm around Keith’s shoulder. “You will always be our hot tempered, star pilot, Keith. Who your parents are doesn’t change that, and it never will,” he said.

“Lance is correct,” Coran said. “One’s lineage does not define who they are--only their actions can do that. And, Keith my boy, your actions have showed me that you truly are an honorable paladin worthy of Voltron and nothing less.”

Keith’s teammates nodded in agreement. Keith looked and Allura, whose face was still hard with some unreadable emotion. Lance squeezed his shoulder. Keith looked up at him. “Let’s go get some snacks,” Lance suggested. “I’m sure Kolivan and Shiro still have a long way to go before they will have any definite plans.”

Keith nodded mutely, allowing Lance to lead him out of the room. His feet moved on autopilot as they headed to the kitchen. Lance stopped them just outside the kitchen. “Keith, are you alright?” he asked.

“I’m not sure,” he said, blinking. “I knew Coran and Allura might react badly, but I guess it’s different to imagine their reactions and actually receiving them.”

Lance squeezed his arm again and pulled him into a hug. “Allura will get over it. She’s just . . . in shock, I guess.”

Keith nodded against Lance’s chest. Beneath his own numbness, he vaguely worried about Lance feeling the rapid beating of his heart. Lance pulled away slowly. “You know what,” he said, “once we’re done with the whole defeating Zarkon thing, let’s go find your family.”

Keith stared up at Lance, slack jawed. “You . . . you would do that for me?”

“Of course I would,” Lance said.

Lance gave him the smile that set Keith’s heart aflame, and Keith knew that he was far too gone for this boy.

 

**V.**

_Humility_

Keith groaned into his hands as he sat down. Shiro handed him some water before sitting down next to him. “I just don’t get it, Shiro,” Keith said. “There are times when we get along like peanut butter and jelly, but then he’ll turn around and start yelling at me for no reason.” He looked at Shiro with desperation in his eyes. “Am I doing something wrong?”

Shiro shook his head. “Lance admires you more than you realize, Keith,” he said. “When we were in Beta Traz, Pidge and I overheard him saying something wonderful things about you and the rest of the team.”

“Then why can’t we get along?” Keith asked desperately.

Shiro pursed his lips before saying, “Lance . . . is dealing with some things himself. It really isn’t my place to say, but while he was complimenting the team, we overheard him saying some troublesome things about himself.” Shiro nudged Keith’s shoulder. “You really want things to be good with Lance? Go talk to him.”

Keith breathed in deeply and nodded. “Alright. I’ll go do that.”

Shiro slapped him on the back. “Atta boy. Good luck,” he said.

Keith found Lance in the observatory, staring at the stars. Pausing in the threshold, Keith was reminded of a night that felt like a lifetime ago--a night when he watched a boy gaze at the stars, and the stars that gazed back.

He sat down next to Lance quietly, content to watch the stars go by in silence. Lance sighed quietly. “Do you think this plan will work?” he asked.

Keith glanced at Lance before turning back to the stars. “It has to,” he said simply.

Lance shook his head, an incredulous smile teasing his lips. “I admire that about you, you know,” he said, looking at Keith with soft eyes, “your confidence. Was one of the first things I noticed about you. How talented and confident you are.”

Keith’s heart skipped a beat as he stared into Lance’s eyes and saw the raw sincerity in them. “If you admire me,” he said slowly, “then why are we always fighting?”

Lance sighed and turned to stars once again. “Do you know who taught me the constellations?” he asked. Keith shook his head. “Eduardo did. We would sneak out of the house around midnight and lay in the backyard for hours staring at the stars.” Lance’s eyes were distant, caught in memories from years and years ago. “Every night, I would look up at the stars and dream of being up there. I wanted to see everything the universe had to offer. And for the longest time, it was just a dream that only lived when I looked at the stars with my brother.

“Then I applied to the Garrison,” he continued. “I worked harder than I ever had to get in. And when I was accepted I finally felt like the stars were within reach.” He looked at Keith. “The first day, I botched the simulator and was so scared that our instructor would kick me out right there and then. But then you were called for your turn. And I watched you pilot the simulator like you were born in the pilot’s seat,” he said. “And I told myself that I would work hard and catch up to your talent so that one day you would see me.”

Lance looked away. “Then you were expelled. And I was angry that you’d given up everything that I had spent my whole life fighting for. And I was disappointed because I thought that you’d left without ever noticing that I was alive,” he said.

“And now we’re here,” he said, gesturing to the stars. “We’re here as a team and my dreams are finally a reality.” He looked down. “But we’re still on different levels. Everyone else has a thing--something special they bring to the group. And I’m just . . . me.”

Keith let them sit in silence for a moment as he took in everything Lance had said. His heart ached at Lance’s insecurities. Taking a shaky breath, he took Lance’s hand gently. “I see you,” he said.

_Gentleness_

“I have always seen you,” Keith whispered. Lance sat there, still as a rock. He was afraid that if he moved this perfect dream would end, and he’d wake up alone and lost in his own wishful thinking. Keith looked down at their hands as he said, “Your thing, Lance, is that you take care of us. You’ve done so much for me already that I can’t even imagine what you’ve done for the others.” He smiled ruefully. “I guess we forget that you need to be taken care of, too.

“All we need is you,” he said. “You already have all the traits and talents that your team needs. Trust me. We would be lost without you, Lance.”

Lance swallowed the lump in his throat. “You’ve always been too good to me, Keith,” he said, a tear slipping down his face.

Keith brushed that tear away. “And you’ve always been too good to us,” he whispered. Lance looked up at him in time to see a tear slip down Keith’s face. And Lance thought that Keith looked at him like he was _someone_. Like Lance was beautiful. Like Lance was one of the stars they were passing on their journey.

Lance smiled at the thought. That he was a star.

Because if Lance was a star, then Keith was the sky.

 

**+1**

_“I’ve seen the way he looks at you, you know,” Hunk said. “Like you’re a storm and he’s a desert desperate to drown.”_

Lance stared at the ceiling, Hunk’s words playing through his mind for the uptenth time. He smiled to himself. Hunk was right.

The smell of rain was in the air.

Lance climbed out of the window of his room like he’d done all those years ago with Eduardo. He tiptoed around the outside of the rebel compound until he reached Keith’s window. He tapped on the glass.

Almost immediately, Keith flung the window open. Lance yelped as Keith glowered down at him, knife in hand. “Lance,” he whispered, “what are you doing? You almost gave me a heart attack.”

Lance gave him a goofy smile. “Gotta stay your toes, mullet,” he teased. “Come watch the sunrise with me.”

Keith blinked. “What?”

“You heard me.”

“What if we get caught?”

Lance shrugged. “What’s the worst that can happen? Shiro lectures us?”

Keith chewed on his lip, a habit Lance thought was stupidly cute. “Alright,” he said, “but you’re taking the blame.”

Lance rolled his eyes. “Yeah, yeah, okay. Hurry up.” Keith climbed out of the window clumsily, something Lance did not fail to comment on. A few snarky comments and shoves later, they sat on the beach about half a mile from the rebel base.

Lance leaned back on his hands and closed his eyes. For a moment, he could believe he was back home, sitting on the beach as Andres and Rosa tried to get Mama into the water. Opening his eyes, he stared wistfully at the sky. The almost but not quite.

“It’s beautiful here,” Keith said quietly.

“Yeah,” Lance said, his voice catching in his throat, “reminds me of home.”

“Home, huh?” Keith mused. Lance looked over at him only to find that Keith had been staring at him. “You know,” he said, “I’ve spent my whole life searching for answers to questions that no one could really answer. But with you? You gave me the answers before I’d even asked, Lance.”

Lance’s heart beat erratically. He swallowed, trying not to let the look in Keith’s eyes that could only be described as love distract him. He turned to face the sea again. “They say that love comes when you least expect it,” he said. He laughed quietly, looking down. “I don’t believe that for a second. You know why?”

“Why?” Keith breathed.

Lance looked into his eyes. “Because I could see myself falling in love with you from a mile away.”

Keith blinked. “You love me?”

“More than anything.”

Keith was crying.

“I love you, too.”

Through the tears, Keith gave Lance the most beautiful smile in the world. Lance laughed and leaned forward, pulling Keith’s forehead to his own. “You’re so beautiful,” he whispered, pecking Keith’s nose.

Keith thread his fingers through Lance’s hair. “I love you,” was all he said.

“I know,” was Lance’s reply.

And as the sun rose, Lance thought to himself that the most beautiful desert was the one you see just after the rain.

**Author's Note:**

> i hope you enjoyed reading this!! please let me know what you think and thank you so much for reading!!!


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